I’m always dicing with golfing death as I’m getting ready to hit a shot. I just get too close to the ball when I’m waggling away and, occasionally, I accidentally strike the top of it.
Fine when you’re on the tee, and when you’re on the green, but I’ve more than once had to add a penalty stroke to my score because I’ve carelessly moved the ball in the general area. It’s even worse when I’ve striped a drive into the middle of the fairway.
Bigger fool you, I hear you say, and I don’t expect your sympathy. But I instantly connected with this question: “I was hovering above the ball and looking at the hole. While I was doing this, I felt a very slight feather on the bottom of the clubhead.
“I looked down, the ball position did not appear to have changed, and I didn’t have to alter my footing or stance to hit the ball. I asked my playing partners and they didn’t notice anything. But there is a chance the ball may have moved. What should I have done?”
What’s the ruling? Tack on a shot, or give yourself the benefit of the doubt?
Golf ball might have moved? Here’s what the Rules say?
When has a ball moved in the Rules of Golf?
It’s when “a ball at rest has left its original spot and come to rest on any other spot and “this can be seen by the naked eye”. This is the case whether or not anyone actually sees it do so.
But when you’re deciding whether a ball at rest has moved, Rule 9.2a says it is treated as having done so only if it is “known or virtually certain that it did”.
So, for those of you who aren’t familiar with this term, that’s when there is “conclusive evidence that the event in question happened”. That means you saw it happen, or witnesses saw it happen.
Advertisement
It also means if there is a “very small degree of doubt, all reasonably available information shows that it is at least 95% likely that the event in question happened”.
If you can’t determine that, if the ball might have moved but it is not known or virtually certain, then Rule 9.2a says “it is treated as not having moved and must be played as it lies”.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
Do you agree with this ball moved golf rule? Let me know by leaving a comment, or get in touch with us on X.
